Fishing Days
by Kelectra
Summary: Sasuke tries to find his purpose in a new life, by hiding from his old one.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It occurred to me part of the reason I'm having so much trouble with the next chapter of The Hurricane and the Thunderstorm is the fact that for some reason the children who he helps from the fishing village, morphed into a larger role than I had intended. It made me want to write about Sasuke's interaction with them and what he was really up too, i.e. me actually writing about Sasuke as a fisherman XD.

Fishing Days will be a collection of drabbles. As always, Enjoy.

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Karin wasn't sure what to make of the brooding form standing before her gazing ever so pensively out of the window at the setting sun. She looked around her at the meager accommodations and thought of the small, smelly village she had passed through just to reach him. Was he trying to punish himself? She didn't understand. He was so much better than what he had resigned himself to be.

He hadn't said anything throughout her whole report of what she'd found out about Madara's plans and the progress with the Akatsuki. She had detailed and elaborated what Madara had needed her skills for, and the fact that Suigetsu challenged and attacked Kisame every other day. Or how the pale skinned mist-nin had disappeared for several weeks to train himself after Kisame had given him a particularly brutal beating one bright sunny morning. The only thing he'd seemed interested in was the fact that the older Uchiha was not going to pursue Sasuke to rejoin his ranks. She could tell he was relieved by that.

Despite her slow understanding of Sasuke's minimal facial expressions, Karin wanted desperately to know what he was thinking now, with that far off look he got more often than not. The look, even though he was backing her; she could tell that he was wearing that look now. She had to restrain her urge to run her hand through his hair, and smooth the creases from his forehead when his brow furrowed in just that certain way, that made her think he was having tortured thoughts. If only he would let her get close.

It had become increasingly clear to Karin that Sasuke grew more despondent the closer they travelled to the Fire Country. In Sasuke's case this meant that he became even less amicable, something she was sure was witnessed by few living souls. It was the only thing that could explain his present mood, and the painstaking meandering path he chose to avoid his old home country, crossing only where paths would take him furthest from Konoha. Karin supposed being in Fire Country itself was cause for his unease and was glad they were a few days away from Tea Country, she had a feeling that a change of scenery was definitely in need.

"You shouldn't wear that cloak when you come here." His voice broke the silence and she was startled from her musings, realizing that he must have noticed her unintentional staring at the back of his head.

Karin suppressed the embarrassed flush she could feel burning her face and looked over herself, surveying the said apparel. Her eyes took in the wispy, blood red in coiling swirls over fathomless black. The design held many meanings to different people, but all that came to Karin's mind was how comfortable the material was. Without realizing, she had grown so accustomed to wearing it that she hadn't even been aware of the billowing cloth. Though now that the notion was brought to her attention she understood Sasuke's concern, the Five Great Ninja Villages were very aware of the Akatsuki now, and it would be unwise to draw their attention un-necessarily. He hadn't said as much, but this is what Karin came to assume.

Karin thought that Sasuke was always so practical about such things, and saw situations uninhibited by emotional attachment, that was one of the things she admired strongly about him, aside from the fact that he was beautiful. She was sure that his cold calculation of situations was misunderstood by Konoha, and why he must have been forced to seek Master Orochimaru's guidance to improve.

How could Karin know or understand that it was the strongest of emotions that was Sasuke's fuel and driving force. Love and hatred, fear and anger, the same feelings that pained him to see those haunting colors of the Akatsuki cloak. Colors he wished he would never see in his waking hours again. His nightmares were enough.

Those colors swarmed his mind at night, like a plague. Always swallowing everything he touched in red, engulfing all that knew or would. The shadowy images never always un-nerved him, and he'd try to turn away. A masked face, a streak of blonde, a flutter of pink, he refused to acknowledge them, to do so was their death, he told himself he stayed away to keep them safe. But the one image that would always force him to trembling consciousness with a crushing weight on his heart, was always the soft smiling face, index poking his forehead, tenderly, gently whispering.

"Sorry Sasuke, some other time."

Karin never stopped him, from walking away.

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A/N: I really should be working on The Hurricane and the Thunderstorm.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke resented the fact, that of all the people, Karin could always find him. He closed his burning eyes and opted to ignore her approaching presence, his back resting leisurely against the rough bark of a tree. This would be the second time she had sought him out, following his orders almost blindly to keep him informed about Madara's plans. Though as the time wore on, he wasn't sure he cared anymore about the news she brought of the old Uchiha. Every report just made him feel more prone to disappearing somewhere far and distant, something he was seriously considering.

But how far was far enough? Was there anywhere physically possible he could travel that could make him forget all that he had lost? He thought of team seven and the way things were before his desertion. He knew he caused them all pain; it was plain as the sky was blue when he had seen their faces during their last confrontation. He recalled clearly Sakura's eyes their fathomless green, hopeful and expectant and Naruto's azure determination. The thought of the loud mouth blonde made him frown and he recoiled from the mental image instantly, as though it burned his mind.

He sensed Karin hesitant at the border of the clearing and she cleared her throat before speaking.

"Sasuke-kun."

He didn't open his eyes to acknowledge her; there would have been no point, all he would have seen was the blurry colors of the flaming red of her hair and the unfocused peach of her skin. He tried to suppress the nausea that always over whelmed him when his sight began to fail him.

"Have you come with information?"

There was a pause before she replied, and he knew she was eyeing Juugo quizzically.

"What happened to him?" he didn't see her gesture toward the larger man, but he knew she had pointed.

Juugo was the reason his eyes were throbbing now, and Sasuke was beginning to regret agreeing to bring him along. The town they had just left was the fourth one they had to flee because the man had lost control. Not that Sasuke cared about any of the people that were attacked, but it made things harder to keep a low profile.

Being seen with Karin also did not exactly reinforce the hiding plan, and he grew irritated by her staling.

"He's unconscious," was his contempt filled response.

"What have you got to report?" he repeated the question again and ventured to open his eyes and glare in her direction, to emphasize his displeasure.

"Sasuke-kun," she laughed nervously, "must you always be so hostile?"

He only deepened his glare.

Karin shifted uneasily and Sasuke noted her hazy image giving a short nod before starting, "They plan to go after the Hachi-bi next," she started moving silently to sit across from him, "We'll leave for Kumo in little over a week while he gets things prepared."

Sasuke processed the new Intel, wondering distantly about the kyuubi and its container, silently chastising himself when he realized the thoughts were all worried ones, and he reminded himself that if nothing else, Team Seven always protected each other. He closed his eyes again as the pain behind them began to subside. Karin was still speaking but he wasn't sure what she had said and hoped it wasn't pertinent information.

"…That's how I was able to get away to come see you Sasuke-kun," She brushed a strand of hair from her face and smiled at him, and he tensed at the feeling of her hand softly covering his own and her breath on his face.

The feeling of tender human touch was almost foreign to him now, and he had to shake his head of the involuntary image of delicate pastel pinks and emotion filled greens, more immeasurable than the ocean, and sometimes just as tempestuous.

"Karin…" he forced warning into his words.

She was too close.

The red head jumped away instinctively, though he noticed not from his unspoken chastisement, but rather from the shifting moan emanating from the form crumpled on the ground.

Juugo had woken up.

Sasuke heard Karin sigh, and shift to stand dusting off her clothes.

"Is there anything else?" he directed the question to Karin, and opened his eyes thankfully to focused images. She was backing him and looking off into the distance, but shook her head slowly.

"No, nothing else important," he nodded in acceptance. Thus far Madara was sticking to his plan, gather all the bi-ju and use their power against the Five Great Shinobi Nations. No surprises yet. It did however make him wonder what his role would have been if he'd stayed.

Sasuke turned his attention then to Juugo watching as he shifted to a sitting position. The large man sat hunched in the clearing, looking ashamed and Sasuke knew what he would ask next, he always asked it after.

The look on Juugo's face was imploring and pained, "Did I, hurt…"

"Nobody died," this time at least, and Sasuke felt himself feeling sorry for the man at the relief that washed over his face.

Sasuke stood slowly, taking note of how much time had been wasted waiting on Juugo and sighed softly. He brushed the windswept hair from his eyes and turned toward the path of another village, wondering how long Karin would choose to tag along this time. He supposed he didn't mind the added company; she was tolerable when she wasn't trying to faun all over him.

"We won't stop in the next village," he was addressing Juugo, knowing that Karin would follow regardless, "I want to get out of Fire Country as soon as possible." Just maybe the dreams would stop if he wasn't so close to Konoha, and maybe he wouldn't think about them so often anymore, maybe he could forget.

"Once we're in Tea Country we'll settle in one of the smaller villages near the coast." They could try to find a little pocket of life somewhere, unaffected and unconcerned with the wider world. Somewhere that would accept them without question and contempt, and with all their destructive faults. But as his small group started their trek averting the beaten path. Sasuke took one long last look at Fire country, and wondered if there was ever really such a place.


End file.
